Okay so this post is actually what I originally had in mind to talk about when I started on the previous post. But somehow, that one took a rather introspective turn and the title just didn't seem fitting anymore.
This topic is one that I've been longing to talk about for a while now 'cause I think it's one of those life lessons that are simple truths, but ones we often forget in the hectic jumble of life. I hope that by writing it here, I'll have a somewhat permanent place to come back to when i'm right smack in the middle of that jumble.
It's been said many times before but it's true. Happiness is a mindset. It's not a state or a product of your circumstance, it's not the things you have or the people who are around you. It's who you are. And (cliche as it sounds,) it comes from within. Happiness is an innate quality (one that can be learned, but most definitely one that's "self-inflicted"). Of all these, the most important is that happiness is a choice.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Self thoughts
I realised lately that I've become very money-focused and materialistic. Not in the traditional sense exactly, but in the way that is always sourcing out the best deals and bargain-for-your-buck even if those ways may not always be ethically-sound. For example, just yesterday I was thinking of watching a movie with my sisters. So that'd be 3 tickets, right? Well on weekdays before 6, the cinema near my house offers a student discount at $7, slightly cheaper than the $9 for normal tickets. But even better than the student discount, is the senior citizen price of $5.
So I was thinking, it doesn't really seem to matter to these cinema companies whether they make $2 more or less on each ticket they sell - either way, it seems as if $5 is enough to guarantee them a profit. Anything above that is just extra revenue. So I though since both my parents are considered to be in the senior citizen bracket, why not just borrow their cards and get the discount for my sisters?
But when I explained this brilliant plan to my family, they were less than impressed. My sister actually said that she wouldn't mind paying the full fare if that's what she had to do to watch the movie. She wasn't a senior citizen, nor was she a student anymore.
I dont know. I'm still undecided on this matter. Am I being too business-oriented and money-driven? Is this something I should suppress? But isn't being business-savvy a good thing? Knowing the value of things, and how to use what you have to the best advantage? Or is that very deceitful and materialistic. I mean you could argue that this is a small matter and I may be right in saying that these companies probably rip people off in other aspects like selling over-priced bags of chips, but the mindset of doing the business-smart thing may not always be doing what's best for everyone. What I'm trying to say, is that acting in your own best interests is a questionable way to live. And in this world where the phrase "Who are you to judge?" is so often used, sometimes we need a judge. Sometimes our actions need to be questioned in order for us to remain proper good people, and not let our lives fall into a total state of anarchy.
I guess you don't need to judge others, but you can't be too accepting of yourself as well. If you see/sense something in you that you're not happy about, have the courage to stop. And change.
So I was thinking, it doesn't really seem to matter to these cinema companies whether they make $2 more or less on each ticket they sell - either way, it seems as if $5 is enough to guarantee them a profit. Anything above that is just extra revenue. So I though since both my parents are considered to be in the senior citizen bracket, why not just borrow their cards and get the discount for my sisters?
But when I explained this brilliant plan to my family, they were less than impressed. My sister actually said that she wouldn't mind paying the full fare if that's what she had to do to watch the movie. She wasn't a senior citizen, nor was she a student anymore.
I dont know. I'm still undecided on this matter. Am I being too business-oriented and money-driven? Is this something I should suppress? But isn't being business-savvy a good thing? Knowing the value of things, and how to use what you have to the best advantage? Or is that very deceitful and materialistic. I mean you could argue that this is a small matter and I may be right in saying that these companies probably rip people off in other aspects like selling over-priced bags of chips, but the mindset of doing the business-smart thing may not always be doing what's best for everyone. What I'm trying to say, is that acting in your own best interests is a questionable way to live. And in this world where the phrase "Who are you to judge?" is so often used, sometimes we need a judge. Sometimes our actions need to be questioned in order for us to remain proper good people, and not let our lives fall into a total state of anarchy.
I guess you don't need to judge others, but you can't be too accepting of yourself as well. If you see/sense something in you that you're not happy about, have the courage to stop. And change.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Amused
Hey!
So recently I made a buying decision that fairly blew up about 2-thirds of my internship pay.. But I feel that it was a worthy investment, and I'd much rather spend it this way than on something potentially frivolous that wouldn't help me out or add value to my life in any way.
Okay enough suspense. I purchased a Macbook Pro with Retina display and am loving it now more than ever (because I just installed Microsoft Office and Adobe for freeeee~ student perks). This way, I have the comfort of familiarity when working on school stuff, plus the added perk of the heartbreakingly pleasing aesthetics that Macs are famous for :') Also, I think one thing that Apple definitely has over other laptop brands is its keyboard. I've read a lot of reviews and watched multiple videos of people talking about what they like (and dislike) about their MacBooks. Yet, I don't recall any one mentioning the wonderfully designed keypad that it has. Now I am no computer genius, so bear with me as I attempt to describe the amazing usability of this machine. I think it's the spacing of the keys that makes each one so comfortable to press. Without forcing you to stretch your fingers too far or contort them in weird positions, it gives you just what you want, without too much effort. Know what I'm sayin' ?
For some reason, when I bought this, all the 13" Macbook Pros with 128GB were sold out islandwide!! And no one even knew when the new stock was to arrive.. How does that happen?!! My dad insists that it's a marketing ploy to get people to pay that additional 300 dollars and just buy the 256GB one instead. I for one think the fact that school starting for all the universities might have something to do with the low stock of laptops in stores at the moment. Marketing ploy or not, I fell for it. hee. Moving on~
What's got me so tickled is when I went to school today to ask if the programmes (mentioned above) could be installed under school licence. The dude at the counter (which I'm sure was Filipino, i love Filipinos, they're funny) was the one who helped me out with the installations. Let me just digress here and relate the ridiculous way in which my school's IT help department works. It's a room called the IT Help Desk with whitewashed walls and a bench for you to sit on and wait. Upon entering, you have to type your student number onto a screen and hit the 'ENTER' button. Following which, a receipt with a queue number would promptly dispense with those classic receipt machine beeps. Do you see what I'm getting at? White walls, benches, queue numbers?? The place is literally a clinic !! All that's missing are the sick people. (Which they sometimes have as well).
Anyhow, on this exceptionally empty day (empty because it's actually exam period for the peeps who're still in school - I'm exempted because I had internship this month.. though now probably more broke than the schooling kids.. ) you'd think they would make an exception with the queue number system because, quite frankly, there was no queue. But they do love their protocols! So I typed in my student number and before I even had a chance to sit down on the bench, it was called!!
I walked right over to the counter and told them I wanted to install Adobe. Here I'll skip right to the funny bit which is when the guy asked me to come up with a password for my account. 8 characters long, 1 symbol, 1 uppercase. Shouldn't be too hard. right? nope. I had at least 10 unsuccessful tries with different combinations each time. If it wasn't so ridiculous, it would've been infuriating.
So naturally, since the guy was the IT expert, (and I was at the IT HELPdesk), I swerved the computer in his direction and asked for help. He kept telling me that I had to follow the instructions (which I was!!) and then turned to his computer friend and laughingly joked that I "still can't get in" because apparently coming up with a password was probably the simplest IT thing to do and yet it was hard for me. huh. Still having trouble, and wanting to harness his IT expertise instead of just having him sit there waiting for me, I suggested that maybe he could invent a password for me and just tell me what it is. My adobe account was hardly a private thing anyway. At which point he said, why don't you use your boyfriend's name? Which sent his computer friend into a fit of laughter.
My reaction was to laugh it off with them, just saying "my what?.." and moving on as if I hadn't heard it. But what I should've said probably instead of feigning ignorance of his reference to my non-existent better half was this:
Computer dude: "You should write down your boyfriend's name"
Me: "Oh I don't have one, but..what was your name again?"
"And how do you spell that?"
*Proceed to type it in*
Just for fun! :) HAHAHA That would've been really funny. And I think he would've appreciated it too. I mean if you want to joke/flirt, just make it obvious. Don't do the snide obscure remarks that just make things awkward. I think he might've actually helped me more after that too. Too bad I only think of these funny comebacks after I've left the crime scene. LOL okay I don't know what I'm saying anymore. But yes, this is what had me amused on the bus ride home.
Will check in again with something more common-sensical and less frivolous next time! Hope you have a good day too :)
So recently I made a buying decision that fairly blew up about 2-thirds of my internship pay.. But I feel that it was a worthy investment, and I'd much rather spend it this way than on something potentially frivolous that wouldn't help me out or add value to my life in any way.
Okay enough suspense. I purchased a Macbook Pro with Retina display and am loving it now more than ever (because I just installed Microsoft Office and Adobe for freeeee~ student perks). This way, I have the comfort of familiarity when working on school stuff, plus the added perk of the heartbreakingly pleasing aesthetics that Macs are famous for :') Also, I think one thing that Apple definitely has over other laptop brands is its keyboard. I've read a lot of reviews and watched multiple videos of people talking about what they like (and dislike) about their MacBooks. Yet, I don't recall any one mentioning the wonderfully designed keypad that it has. Now I am no computer genius, so bear with me as I attempt to describe the amazing usability of this machine. I think it's the spacing of the keys that makes each one so comfortable to press. Without forcing you to stretch your fingers too far or contort them in weird positions, it gives you just what you want, without too much effort. Know what I'm sayin' ?
For some reason, when I bought this, all the 13" Macbook Pros with 128GB were sold out islandwide!! And no one even knew when the new stock was to arrive.. How does that happen?!! My dad insists that it's a marketing ploy to get people to pay that additional 300 dollars and just buy the 256GB one instead. I for one think the fact that school starting for all the universities might have something to do with the low stock of laptops in stores at the moment. Marketing ploy or not, I fell for it. hee. Moving on~
What's got me so tickled is when I went to school today to ask if the programmes (mentioned above) could be installed under school licence. The dude at the counter (which I'm sure was Filipino, i love Filipinos, they're funny) was the one who helped me out with the installations. Let me just digress here and relate the ridiculous way in which my school's IT help department works. It's a room called the IT Help Desk with whitewashed walls and a bench for you to sit on and wait. Upon entering, you have to type your student number onto a screen and hit the 'ENTER' button. Following which, a receipt with a queue number would promptly dispense with those classic receipt machine beeps. Do you see what I'm getting at? White walls, benches, queue numbers?? The place is literally a clinic !! All that's missing are the sick people. (Which they sometimes have as well).
Anyhow, on this exceptionally empty day (empty because it's actually exam period for the peeps who're still in school - I'm exempted because I had internship this month.. though now probably more broke than the schooling kids.. ) you'd think they would make an exception with the queue number system because, quite frankly, there was no queue. But they do love their protocols! So I typed in my student number and before I even had a chance to sit down on the bench, it was called!!
I walked right over to the counter and told them I wanted to install Adobe. Here I'll skip right to the funny bit which is when the guy asked me to come up with a password for my account. 8 characters long, 1 symbol, 1 uppercase. Shouldn't be too hard. right? nope. I had at least 10 unsuccessful tries with different combinations each time. If it wasn't so ridiculous, it would've been infuriating.
So naturally, since the guy was the IT expert, (and I was at the IT HELPdesk), I swerved the computer in his direction and asked for help. He kept telling me that I had to follow the instructions (which I was!!) and then turned to his computer friend and laughingly joked that I "still can't get in" because apparently coming up with a password was probably the simplest IT thing to do and yet it was hard for me. huh. Still having trouble, and wanting to harness his IT expertise instead of just having him sit there waiting for me, I suggested that maybe he could invent a password for me and just tell me what it is. My adobe account was hardly a private thing anyway. At which point he said, why don't you use your boyfriend's name? Which sent his computer friend into a fit of laughter.
My reaction was to laugh it off with them, just saying "my what?.." and moving on as if I hadn't heard it. But what I should've said probably instead of feigning ignorance of his reference to my non-existent better half was this:
Computer dude: "You should write down your boyfriend's name"
Me: "Oh I don't have one, but..what was your name again?"
"And how do you spell that?"
*Proceed to type it in*
Just for fun! :) HAHAHA That would've been really funny. And I think he would've appreciated it too. I mean if you want to joke/flirt, just make it obvious. Don't do the snide obscure remarks that just make things awkward. I think he might've actually helped me more after that too. Too bad I only think of these funny comebacks after I've left the crime scene. LOL okay I don't know what I'm saying anymore. But yes, this is what had me amused on the bus ride home.
Will check in again with something more common-sensical and less frivolous next time! Hope you have a good day too :)
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Coming into focus
Woahh so much has happened during the lapse between this post and the last.
That's probably the understatement of the century since the gap of 2 years is more like a gaping fissure than a hole. So what have I been up to these past 2 years? Well first off, I'd like to qualify that in my long absence from this space, I've set up quite a number of other blogs and webpages that have served as my outlets of stress relief and creative expression. I hope this doesn't come to the attention of the Blogger authorities, but I actually moved on to explore those other accounts with Wordpress. That said, now that I'm back to using Blogger, I'm liking it a lot more than Wordpress. And I'm not saying that just 'cause.
That's probably the understatement of the century since the gap of 2 years is more like a gaping fissure than a hole. So what have I been up to these past 2 years? Well first off, I'd like to qualify that in my long absence from this space, I've set up quite a number of other blogs and webpages that have served as my outlets of stress relief and creative expression. I hope this doesn't come to the attention of the Blogger authorities, but I actually moved on to explore those other accounts with Wordpress. That said, now that I'm back to using Blogger, I'm liking it a lot more than Wordpress. And I'm not saying that just 'cause.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
October !
Hello! I know it's been eons since I've written anything on this blog and I really do apologise for my lack of activity here. It reminds me of how in my previous school my Biology teacher would get so fed up when she asked a question like "is everyone clear about this?" and we'd all either be busy scribbling down notes are simply too tired from the school day to give her an answer and she'd go "RESPOND LIFE FORMS!!" hahaha she really was my favourite teacher :)
Monday, September 9, 2013
Current happenings & Prospective projects
What's another word for 'future'? More like how 'current' is for
'present'/'now', and 'then' is for 'past'. Hold on, I'll check my
dictionary app.
Okay, it says 'time to come', 'forthcoming', 'in store', or 'prospective'. Hmm I think I like prospective the best so I shall use that in the title.
Now, getting on with what this post actually is :) It's a compilation of the stuff that currently fill my days/thoughts and what I hope will fill my days/thoughts in the days to come, hence: current and prospective.
Right now I'm in the midst of my holidays so this means that I have much time to sit around all day and just do what I like (which may not always be a good thing for me, having so much unobligated time. Why is there a red squiggly line under my "unobligated"? Is it not a proper word? They have it in the Google search but they don't have it in the Collins dictionary. Huh. Well okay, unoccupied/idle time.) Anyway, the point is that I've been spending my time reading books. And you might think this is a good thing, you know how expanding your pool of knowledge and broadening your perspectives etc is supposed to come with reading, making it a beneficial pastime; but I think that it's starting to become more of an impediment than a help. This is because I think I'm a bit excessive about it. okay maybe that's an understatement. I go through one book in a day and have been doing so for about 2 weeks now, not to say that I've read 14 books, but close. They all have about 350 pages each. The sad part about this story is that I haven't ad any time to do other things. Almost all I do everyday is read, eat, sleep, read, eat, sleep. I borrow a book from the library one day and return it the next, yeah, I guess I should probably say it's an unhealthy obsession. Literally. haha well because of this (and because of a pretty serious foot injury that came with a sprained ankle), I haven't been very active or exercising regularly which is bad. Especially for one like me who enjoys life's simple pleasures like a few squares of Kinder Bueno or a Happy Hippo, also from the Kinder company, every once in a while. (if you don't know what these are, you've been missing out on life!! Big time!) I also like Vanilla soft-serve ice cream and Froyo sometimes. SO back to the point: My holidays are dwindling away quite unproductively and I'm getting fat.
Okay, it says 'time to come', 'forthcoming', 'in store', or 'prospective'. Hmm I think I like prospective the best so I shall use that in the title.
Now, getting on with what this post actually is :) It's a compilation of the stuff that currently fill my days/thoughts and what I hope will fill my days/thoughts in the days to come, hence: current and prospective.
Right now I'm in the midst of my holidays so this means that I have much time to sit around all day and just do what I like (which may not always be a good thing for me, having so much unobligated time. Why is there a red squiggly line under my "unobligated"? Is it not a proper word? They have it in the Google search but they don't have it in the Collins dictionary. Huh. Well okay, unoccupied/idle time.) Anyway, the point is that I've been spending my time reading books. And you might think this is a good thing, you know how expanding your pool of knowledge and broadening your perspectives etc is supposed to come with reading, making it a beneficial pastime; but I think that it's starting to become more of an impediment than a help. This is because I think I'm a bit excessive about it. okay maybe that's an understatement. I go through one book in a day and have been doing so for about 2 weeks now, not to say that I've read 14 books, but close. They all have about 350 pages each. The sad part about this story is that I haven't ad any time to do other things. Almost all I do everyday is read, eat, sleep, read, eat, sleep. I borrow a book from the library one day and return it the next, yeah, I guess I should probably say it's an unhealthy obsession. Literally. haha well because of this (and because of a pretty serious foot injury that came with a sprained ankle), I haven't been very active or exercising regularly which is bad. Especially for one like me who enjoys life's simple pleasures like a few squares of Kinder Bueno or a Happy Hippo, also from the Kinder company, every once in a while. (if you don't know what these are, you've been missing out on life!! Big time!) I also like Vanilla soft-serve ice cream and Froyo sometimes. SO back to the point: My holidays are dwindling away quite unproductively and I'm getting fat.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Excellence and one-hit wonders
This is a topic that's been swimming around in my head for a while now; I
even had quite a lengthy discussion about it with my sister in the wee hours
one night.
So I used to be in the choir in my old school where we had some amazing and incredibly insightful people for conductors. They didn’t just teach us to sing well, but also imparted valuable life lessons that I treasure to this day. There was this one quote in particular that really spoke to me: “Excellence is not an act but a habit.” By Aristotle. In context, they were telling us not to put on a good show only for big, important performances (i.e. competitions or events where we are judged and assessed), but to dedicate the same amount of effort, focus & dedication to the casual performances (like those for school-based events). In other words, not just be like a “Peacock choir” where everything is just-for-show and the best is only displayed when the stakes are high, but to consistently bring a good Hand to the table; making Excellence a Habit instead of a one-off Act.
In the same way, people are always telling us that “consistency is key” (to success/good grades, etc.) but I didn’t fully grasp the concept consistency until recently, when I had an epiphany! J So you know how we look at the world in terms of our schedules, like in block periods? For example, I’ve got this week with all my assignments due, then the next 2 weeks are my major exams then for 2 months after that it’s holiday! What I’m trying to get at is that our outlook on life consists of a few milestones, or important events that we mark out on our calendar as they determine our “fate” in some way (testing and grades determine which classes/schools/scholarships you’ll get to apply for), and leave the rest of it (the ordinary days/ maybe even the individual days of a long break) with no clear vision or goal. In the days leading up to the big exams, we study so hard and deprive ourselves of all the luxuries in life (like going out, shopping, eating fancy, watching movies, stalking people on Facebook, SLEEP) to bury ourselves in study material; we suddenly become so Systematic, as we plan out our study schedule, Efficient, as we time ourselves with revision and practice papers, and Productive as we are spurred on by stress of each passing day (and possibly the caffeine in our system from all that coffee. Or tea). Now we may think this kind of discipline is good for us (and sure, it is, if you keep it up even after your tests are over) but in truth, I think it’s more detrimental than helpful. This is because most of us will immediately let everything go and indulge ourselves in all the activities that we were deprived of for the past weeks. We indulge to such an extent (because we can; don’t have school/ a care in the world) that our lifestyle becomes very unhealthy. Sleep at unearthly times, wake up after noon, shop till we have no more money/ we can fill another closet, stare at the computer screen till we have to get new glasses. And basically, if we don’t plan our holidays and fill it with events like what we did while studying, we just waste it away, day by day, transforming into a big blob of goo. Shapeless and helpless. (this often leaves us feeling horribly unprepared for the new school year and thinking how the holidays passed by so quickly)
So I just wanted to say, through this long but hopefully not confusing post, that Consistency means doing the same thing as you would no matter what the circumstance. And obviously, “doing that same thing” means putting your 100% in aiming for Excellence in all that you do, in every situation. This is REALLY a lot easier said than done but I’m pretty confident that if one was focused enough to apply this in their life and see it through, they would lead a pretty eventful and fulfilling life, and not regret a thing.
So I used to be in the choir in my old school where we had some amazing and incredibly insightful people for conductors. They didn’t just teach us to sing well, but also imparted valuable life lessons that I treasure to this day. There was this one quote in particular that really spoke to me: “Excellence is not an act but a habit.” By Aristotle. In context, they were telling us not to put on a good show only for big, important performances (i.e. competitions or events where we are judged and assessed), but to dedicate the same amount of effort, focus & dedication to the casual performances (like those for school-based events). In other words, not just be like a “Peacock choir” where everything is just-for-show and the best is only displayed when the stakes are high, but to consistently bring a good Hand to the table; making Excellence a Habit instead of a one-off Act.
In the same way, people are always telling us that “consistency is key” (to success/good grades, etc.) but I didn’t fully grasp the concept consistency until recently, when I had an epiphany! J So you know how we look at the world in terms of our schedules, like in block periods? For example, I’ve got this week with all my assignments due, then the next 2 weeks are my major exams then for 2 months after that it’s holiday! What I’m trying to get at is that our outlook on life consists of a few milestones, or important events that we mark out on our calendar as they determine our “fate” in some way (testing and grades determine which classes/schools/scholarships you’ll get to apply for), and leave the rest of it (the ordinary days/ maybe even the individual days of a long break) with no clear vision or goal. In the days leading up to the big exams, we study so hard and deprive ourselves of all the luxuries in life (like going out, shopping, eating fancy, watching movies, stalking people on Facebook, SLEEP) to bury ourselves in study material; we suddenly become so Systematic, as we plan out our study schedule, Efficient, as we time ourselves with revision and practice papers, and Productive as we are spurred on by stress of each passing day (and possibly the caffeine in our system from all that coffee. Or tea). Now we may think this kind of discipline is good for us (and sure, it is, if you keep it up even after your tests are over) but in truth, I think it’s more detrimental than helpful. This is because most of us will immediately let everything go and indulge ourselves in all the activities that we were deprived of for the past weeks. We indulge to such an extent (because we can; don’t have school/ a care in the world) that our lifestyle becomes very unhealthy. Sleep at unearthly times, wake up after noon, shop till we have no more money/ we can fill another closet, stare at the computer screen till we have to get new glasses. And basically, if we don’t plan our holidays and fill it with events like what we did while studying, we just waste it away, day by day, transforming into a big blob of goo. Shapeless and helpless. (this often leaves us feeling horribly unprepared for the new school year and thinking how the holidays passed by so quickly)
So I just wanted to say, through this long but hopefully not confusing post, that Consistency means doing the same thing as you would no matter what the circumstance. And obviously, “doing that same thing” means putting your 100% in aiming for Excellence in all that you do, in every situation. This is REALLY a lot easier said than done but I’m pretty confident that if one was focused enough to apply this in their life and see it through, they would lead a pretty eventful and fulfilling life, and not regret a thing.
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